Systems and methods for serving content to merchandising communication systems

ABSTRACT

Described herein are systems and methods configured for serving content to one or more merchandising communication systems. A merchandising communication system may be included at a retail environment and/or other locations. Content may include display information configured to be displayed on display units of the merchandising communication systems. Users may provide entry and/or selection of parameter values for one or more content communication parameters to facilitate selective serving of content to individual merchandising communication system and/or sets of merchandising communication systems.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos.62/031,258, filed 31 Jul. 2014, and 62/190,580, filed 9 Jul. 2015, bothof which are incorporated herein in their entireties.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to a systems and methods for serving content tomerchandising communication systems.

BACKGROUND

There are a variety of retail options for displaying a variety ofinformation in retail environments, including, pricing, labeling,promotions, etc. Traditionally, this information has been provided usingprint systems, including slide-in paper system, plastic label systems,adhesive label systems, etc. More recently, there has been increasedinterest in utilizing digital or electronic merchandising communicationsystems to display such information.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the disclosure relates to a system configured for servingcontent to merchandising communication systems. The system may compriseone or more of a global content server, one or more merchandisingcommunication systems, one or more computing platforms, and/or othercomponents. The global content server may be configured to communicatecontent to one or more merchandising communication systems. In someimplementations, a merchandising communication system may comprising oneor more display units, components, and/or systems configured fordynamically presenting content to users in retail and/or other settings.Content may comprise display information configured for display on oneor more display units of a given merchandising communication system.

The global content server may include one or more physical processorconfigured by machine-readable instructions. Executing themachine-readable instructions may facilitate serving content to one ormore merchandising communication system and/or sets of merchandisingcommunication systems. The machine-readable instructions may include oneor more of a user interface component, a content management component, amerchandising communication system management component, a pushcomponent, and/or other components.

The user interface component may be configured to effectuatepresentation of user interfaces at computing platforms associated withusers of the system. A given user interface being configured to obtainuser entry and/or selection of parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters. By way of non-limiting example a first userinterface may be presented on a first computing platform associated witha first user.

The content management component may be configured to associate contentwith user-provided parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters. User-provided parameter values for one or morecontent communication parameters facilitate selective communication ofcontent to one or more merchandising communication systems. By way ofnon-limiting example, first content may be associated with a firstparameter value for a first content communication parameter provided bythe first user.

The merchandising communication system management component may beconfigured to determine individual merchandising communication systemsand/or sets of merchandising communication systems based onuser-provided parameter values for one or more content communicationparameters. By way of non-limiting example, a first merchandisingcommunication system may be determined based on a second parameter valuefor a second content communication parameter provided by the first user.

The push component may be configured to effectuate communication ofcontent to the determined individual merchandising communication systemsand/or sets of merchandising communication systems. By way ofnon-limiting example, the first content may be communicated to the firstmerchandising communication system.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the systemand/or method disclosed herein, as well as the methods of operation andfunctions of the related elements of structure and the combination ofparts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent uponconsideration of the following description and the appended claims withreference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of thisspecification, wherein like reference numerals designate correspondingparts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however,that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and descriptiononly and are not intended as a definition of the limits of theinvention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singularform of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configured for serving content to one ormore merchandising communication systems, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

FIG. 2 illustrates a display unit of a merchandising communicationsystem, in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of a merchandisingcommunication system in a retail environment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface configured to receiveuser entry and/or selecting of parameter values of one or more contentcommunication parameters that facilitate selective communication ofcontent to merchandising communication systems.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary implementation of a system configuredfor serving content to one or more merchandising communication systems.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of serving content to one or moremerchandising communication systems, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 configured for serving content to one ormore merchandising communication systems 130. System 100 may compriseone or more of a global content server 102, one or more computingplatforms 126, one or more merchandising communication systems 130,external resource(s) 128 and/or other components. Global content server102, computing platform(s) 126, merchandising communication system(s)130, external resource(s) 128, and/or other components of system 100 maybe communicatively coupled via one or more networks 124.

Network 124 may include the Internet, Intranets, near fieldcommunication, frequency (RF) link, Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi, and/or anytype(s) of wired or wireless network(s). It will be appreciated thatthis is not intended to be limiting and that the scope of thisdisclosure includes implementations in which the global content server102, computing platform(s) 126, merchandising communication system(s)130, external resource(s) 128, and/or other components may beoperatively linked via some other communication media.

Global content server 102 may be configured to communicate content toindividual merchandising communication systems 130 and/or sets ofmerchandising communication systems 130. Content may be provided asglobal display information and/or other types of information. Globaldisplay information may include information (e.g., digital informationsuch as a video signal and/or other digital information) suitable toeffectuate presentation of different types of content (e.g., one or moreof video, images, text, and/or other types of content) to users withinretail and/or other settings. In some implementations, the content maybe associated with one or more of product information (e.g., labeling,nutritional facts, and/or other information), sales information (e.g.,pricing, promotional incentives, rebates, and/or other information),and/or other types of information that may be presented to users.

Within individual merchandising communication systems 130, at least aportion of the received global display information (herein referred toas local display information, such as a subset of the global displayinformation) may be received by, and presented at, individual displayunits 138, 140 of the merchandising communication systems 130. By way ofnon-limiting example, individual display units 138, 140 of a givenmerchandising communication system 130 may be configured to identifyassociated local display information (e.g., one or more of video,images, text, and/or other content) from the received global displayinformation (e.g., identify a subset of global display information thatis to be display on the specific display unit). By way of non-limitingexample, local display information may be associated with one or more ofan identifier, serial number, key, pointer, location, and/or otheridentification information associated with the particular display unitwith which the local display information is to be display. Theindividual display devices may detect such an identification within theglobal display information and identify local display information withinthe global display information that may be intended for the displaydevice.

The computing platform(s) 126 may include one or more processorsconfigured by machine-readable instructions to execute computer programcomponents. The computer program components may be configured to enableone or more users associated with the computing platform(s) 126 tointerface with system 100, global content server 102, one or more othercomputing platforms 126, one or more merchandising communication systems130, external resource(s) 128, and/or other components. By way ofnon-limiting example, computing platform(s) 102 may include one or moreof a desktop computer, laptop computer, handheld computer, NetBook,tablet, Smartphones, Smartwatch, PDA, cellular telephone, PCs, and/orother computing platforms.

Computing platform(s) 126 may include one or more physical interfacesand/or other components. A physical interface included in computingplatform(s) 126 may be configured to present one or more user interfaces(see, e.g., FIG. 4) to facilitate communication of information betweenglobal content server 102, merchandising communication system(s) 130,external resource(s) 128, and/or other components and a user ofcomputing platform(s) 126. By way of non-limiting example, a user mayprovide, via interactions with a given user interface, information toand/or receive information from global content server 102, one or moreother computing platform(s) 126, merchandising communication system(s)130, external resource(s) 128, and/or other components.

Examples of physical interface devices of computing platform 126 includeone or more of a keypad, buttons, switches, a keyboard, knobs, levers, adisplay screen, a track pad, a touch screen, speakers, a microphone, anindicator light, an audible alarm, a printer, and/or other interfacesthrough which a user may provide and/or receive information. It is to beunderstood that other communication techniques, either hardwired orwireless, are also contemplated by the present invention as a physicalinterface of the client computing platform(s) 102. As such, one or moreother techniques for communicating information between one or morecomponents of system 100 are contemplated by the present disclosure as aphysical interface of computing platform(s) 126.

Exemplary information provided to global content server 102 (and/orother components of system 100) may include parameter values for one ormore content communication parameters and/or other information.Parameter values of one or more content communication parameters mayfacilitate selective communication of global display information fromglobal content server 102 to individual merchandising communicationsystems 130 and/or sets of merchandising communication system 130,described in more detail herein.

Exemplary information provided to a physical interface of computingplatform(s) 126 from global content server 102 (and/or other componentsof system 100) may include feedback information and/or otherinformation. Feedback information may be associated with one or more ofan economic performance information (e.g., conveying an economic impact)of global display information communicated to a given merchandisingcommunication system 130, maintenance information of one or morecomponents of individual merchandising communication systems 130, and/orother information. Feedback information may facilitate generation and/ordissemination of performance reports for individual merchandisingcommunication systems 130, described in more detail herein.

In some implementations, a given merchandising communication system 130may comprise one or more of a controller 132, one or more display units(e.g., 138, 140), electronic storage 142, and/or other components and/orsystems configured for dynamically presenting content to users in retailand/or other settings. A single controller 132 is illustrated in FIG. 1comprising one or more components, however, several controller subunitsand/or other components may be combined to serve the function ofcontroller 132. In some implementations, controller 132 may comprisesone or more processors 134 configured by machine-readable instructions,a sending card 136, and/or other components. In some implementations,sending card 136 may be configured to perform one or more of: receivingglobal display information (e.g., as sent from global content server 102over network 124); compressing the global display information; providingthe global display information to one or more display units 138, 140,and/or other operations.

In some implementations, execution of the machine-readable instructionsof processor(s) 134 of controller 132 may cause the one or moreprocessors 134 to perform one or more of: monitoring or detecting statesof sensors (not shown in FIG. 1) coupled to individual display units;identifying predetermined information to be provided to the one or moredisplay units; stitching predetermined information (e.g., correspondingto local display information to ultimately be displayed at the displayunit(s)) together; compressing display information; and/or otheroperations.

In some implementations, a given display unit may comprise one or moreof a receiver configured to receive display information (e.g., globalsystem display information and/or local display information), an outputhub configured to provide display information (e.g., local displayinformation) to one or more display components, one or more processors,and/or other components.

In some implementations, a display unit may be configured to conveyand/or transmit display information (e.g., global system displayinformation) to another display unit (e.g., by daisy-chaining). In someimplementations, controller 132 may be configured to provide displayinformation (e.g., global and/or local display information) directly toindividual display units.

In some implementations, controller 132 may be configured to monitorindividual display units and/or other components of a merchandisingcommunication system to determine working conditions of the components.By way of non-limiting example, monitoring may include detectinghardware and/or software malfunctions, monitoring time between routineservices required for a given component, and/or other types ofmonitoring to determine working conditions of components of amerchandising communication system.

In some implementations, electronic storage 142 of merchandisingcommunication system 130 may be configured to store received content(e.g., global display information and/or local display information).Such storage may facilitate continued performance of the merchandisingcommunication system 130 should communications with global contentserver 102 be inhibited. By way of non-limiting example, by storingreceived content, merchandising communication system 130 may be able tofunction appropriately in the event that one or both of global contentserver 102 and/or network 124 cease to function appropriately (e.g.,loss of network connectivity).

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary display unit 200. The display unit 200may be configured receive power in a power input (not shown) and displayinformation in a second input (e.g., receiving compressed displayinformation). The display unit 200 may comprise a power supply 203(e.g., converting AC power to DC power, such as about 3 Vdc to about 5Vdc) connected to the power input, and a power regulator 206 connectedto the power supply 202 and configured to provide a suitable powersource to one or more components of the display unit 200. Theinformation input may be connected to a receiver (information receiver)204. The display unit 200 may comprise one or more processors 208configured by machine-readable instructions to execute one or moreprogram components. Execution of the machine-readable instructions maycause the one or more processor 208 to identify local displayinformation to be displayed on the display component 218 (e.g., an LEDarray and/or other display devices), provide the local displayinformation to the display component 218 for presentation, and/or otheroperations. Optional LED drivers 216 may be included.

In some embodiments, the computer program components may comprise one ormore of a display identification component 210, a content identificationcomponent 212, a decompression component 214, and/or other components.

In some embodiments, the display identification component 210 (e.g.,hardware, software, firmware, or the like) may be configured to storeand/or determine an identifier associated with the display unit, or ofdisplay components thereof (e.g., in certain instances wherein a displayunit comprises multiple display components). In specific embodiments,the identifier is associated with the location of the display unit 200within a merchandising communication system comprising the display unit200.

In some embodiments, content identification component 212 may beconfigured to identify the information (e.g., video, images, text,and/or the like) to be displayed at the identified location. In someimplementations, the content identification component 212 may beconfigured to identify a subset of information to be decompressed by thedecompression component 214 and displayed at the identified location. Insome implementations, the decompression component 214 may be configuredto decompresses a subset of information (e.g., local displayinformation) received that is to be displayed at the identifiedlocation.

In some embodiments, decompression component 214 may be configured todecompress compressed display information. In some implementations,decompression component 214 may be configured to decompress compressedglobal system display information, or a subset thereof (e.g., localdisplay information), received by the display unit 200.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of a merchandisingcommunication system 300 in a retail setting comprising one or moredisplay units 304 and/or other components described herein. The displayunits 304 may be affixed to and/or integrated with retail shelving 302.The display units 304 may be configured to provide specific displaycontent for individual products 308 on the shelves 302, even when theshelves 302 are in complex configurations. In some implementations,system 300 may comprise one or more display units comprising a sensor306 (e.g., camera and/or other sensors) configured to output a sensorstate, such as proximity of users to the sensor 306 or a display unitcomprising the sensor 306.

In some implementations, display units, global content server 102,merchandising communication system 130, computing platforms 126, and/orother components of system described herein may be configured to alterdisplay content (e.g., alter display information provided to the displayunits) based on a sensor state of one or more sensors of one or moredisplay units. In some instances, such sensor states include identifying“motion,” “no motion” and/or other states. Sensor states may include(and/or a sensor, e.g., camera, provided herein is configured to be ableto detect), by way of non-limiting illustration, “motion,” “no motion,”and “captive” (e.g., as determined by identifying a face—i.e., facialrecognition). Other exemplary sensor states include, by way ofnon-limiting example, “in proximity” or “not in proximity.” Generally,based on such determinations, specific display information (content) maybe identified and/or provided to the display unit(s) thereof.

For example, when a sensor state is identified as “no motion” for one ormore display unit, the merchandising communication system 130 and/orother components may be configured to provide specific (andpredetermined) display information, such as logos or decals of theproducts located at (e.g., on a shelf at, above, or below) the displayunits identified as having a sensor state of “no motion,” but when thesensor state is identified as “motion” for the one or more displayunits, the system may be configured to provide different, specific (andpredetermined) display information, such as text describing theproduct(s), the price of the product(s), and optionally a QR code forthe product(s) located at (e.g., on a shelf at, above, or below) thedisplay unit(s) identified as having a sensor state of “motion.” In someimplementations, content specifically associated with “no motion” sensorstate, content specifically associated with “motion” state, and/or othercontent specifically associated with one or more other sensor states,may be specified by a user (e.g., via entry and/or selection of valuesfor one or more content communication parameters, described herein). Insome implementations, content associated with a given product may havedifferent versions of the content that may be individually associatedwith a given sensor states.

In some implementations, a given merchandising communication system 130and/or other components of system 100 may include, and/or otherwiseinterface with, one or more other components and/or systems associatedwith a retail environment. By way of non-limiting example, a retailenvironment may include and/or otherwise be associated with apoint-of-sale (POS) system and/or other systems comprising productinformation for one or more products offered within the retailenvironment. For example, a POS system may include information such asone or more of product SKU's, product pricing, product locations withinthe retail environment and/or other relevant product information. Insome implementations, global content server 102, merchandisingcommunication system 130, and/or other systems may be configured toaccess (e.g., mine) information from a POS system to ensure accuracy andconsistency of content communicated to the merchandising communicationsystem 130 and ultimately displayed at display units. In someimplementations, access and/or integration with a POS system may furthereliminate a need from manual user input to determine specifics ofinformation to be displayed, and/or otherwise provide a check to ensureconsistency with the content sent from global content server 102.

Returning to FIG. 1, electronic storage 122 of global content server 102may be configured to store and/or otherwise access content available tobe served to one or more merchandising communication systems 130,information that characterizes the available content, information thatcharacterizes individual ones of the merchandising communication systems130, and/or other information.

Information characterizing a given merchandising communication system130 may include one or more of configuration information, retailenvironment information, and/or other information.

In some implementations, configuration information may characterizemerchandising communication systems based on components of the givenmerchandising communication system 130, a layout of the one or morecomponents of the given merchandising communication system 130 at agiven retail location, locations of individual display units,associations of one or more products with individual display units,and/or other information. By way of non-limiting example, identificationof a given component of a merchandising communication system 130 maycomprise one or more of a name, serial number, key, location, and/orother information suitable to identify the given component included themerchandising communication system (e.g., individual display units,controllers, electronics storage, and/or other components). Layout maycomprise one or more of physical locations, positions, and/ororientations of the individual components identified to be included inthe given merchandising communication system 130 within a retailenvironment. By way of non-limiting example, electronic storage 122 maystore first information related to a first merchandising communicationsystem within a first retail environment. The first information mayinclude a first identification (e.g., a location) of a first component(e.g., a display unit), and/or other information.

In some implementations, retail environment information may characterizea given merchandising communication system based on one or more ofretail environment identification information, locality information,physical layout information, services information, and/or otherinformation.

Retail environment identification information may include one or more ofa name of the retail environment, location information, and/or otherinformation. Location information may comprise one or more of a GPSlocation, a country, state, city, address, and/or zip code associatedwith the retail environment, and/or other information. By way ofnon-limiting example, electronic storage 122 may store first retailenvironment information of a first retail environment associated with afirst merchandising communication system. The first retail environmentinformation may include, for example, a first name of the retailenvironment. By way of non-limiting example, a name may comprise one ormore of Walmart®, Target®, and/or other retail environment name.

Locality information may include one or more of a listing of otherbusiness nearby the retail environment, demographics of neighborhoodssurrounding the retail environment, traffic information, and/or otherinformation. A listing of other business nearby include names, services,locations, and/or other information associated with other business(e.g., competitors and/or other businesses) nearby the retailenvironment. Demographics of neighborhoods surrounding the retailenvironment may include one or more of a local population, average ageof persons within the locality of the retail environment, average incomeof neighborhoods, types of nearby neighborhoods (e.g., gatedcommunities, apartment buildings, condos, single family homes, etc.),and/or other demographic information. Traffic information may includeone or more of a measure of customer traffic in and out of the retailenvironment (e.g., including peak and/or slow traffic times), vehicletraffic surrounding the retail environment (e.g., including peak and/orslow vehicle traffic times, and/or other information), configurationand/or availability of parking at or near the retail environment (e.g.,parking lot, parking structure, street parking, and/or other parkinginformation), and/or other traffic information. By way of non-limitingexample, electronic storage 122 may store first locality information fora first retail environment associated with a first merchandisingcommunication system. First locality information may comprise, forexample, a name and/or location of a closest business competitor of thefirst retail environment, and/or other information.

Physical layout information may include physical features of the retailenvironment. Physical features may include one or more of a size and/orshape of the retail environment, a square footage of the retailenvironment, locations of different products and/or services offered bythe retail environment, number of checkout lanes, locations and/oravailability of public restrooms, locations of entrances and/or exits,and/or other physical layout information. By way of non-limitingexample, electronic storage 122 may store first physical layoutinformation for a first retail environment associated with a firstmerchandising communication system. First physical layout informationmay comprise, for example, a square footage of the retail environment,and/or other information.

Services information may include one or more of the kinds of services,features, and/or products the retail environment provides. Servicesinformation may include one or more of the conventional, specialty,promotional, seasonal and/or other types of services, features, and/orproducts offered by the retail environment. By way of non-limitingexample, electronic storage 122 may store first services information fora first retail environment associated with a first merchandisingcommunication system. First services information may comprise, forexample, a first specialty service provided by the first retailenvironment. By way of non-limiting example, a specialty service of agrocery store may include a bank being included in the grocery store. Byway of non-limiting example, a seasonal service for a retail store mayinclude gift wrapping. By way of non-limiting example, serviceinformation may be helpful in distinguishing characteristics of the sameor similar stores. By way of non-limiting example, service informationfor a given Costco® store may include that they offer tire services,while service information for a different Costco® may include that theydo not offer tire services, but instead offer a gas station.

In some implementations, electronic storage 122 may store and/orotherwise access information that characterizes available content.Information that characterizes available content may include one or moreof content type information, product information, context information,and/or other information.

Content type information may characterize content as being associatedwith one or more content types. A content type may include one or moreof video, text, audio, and/or other types. By way of non-limitingexample, electronic storage 122 may store first content type informationthat characterizes first content as being associated with a firstcontent type.

Product information may characterize content based on a product type,name, brand, and/or manufacturer associated with the content. By way ofnon-limiting example, product information may include one or more of aproduct class, a product name, a product brand, a price, a manufacturer,and/or other information. A product class may refer to a set of productshaving similarities and/or commonalities on one or more features.Products within a single product class may be considered alternatives byconsumers. A product class may include products having the same orsimilar use, a same or similar (e.g., within a range) product price, asame or similar product function, a common product brand, a commonproduct origin, a same or similar production, manufacture, growth,development, harvesting, and/or other similar features. By way ofnon-limiting example, electronic storage 122 may store first productinformation that characterizes first content as being associated with afirst product type, name, brand, and/or manufacturer.

Context information may characterize content based on context of thecontent. By way of non-limiting example, context information may specifythat content to be within the context of one or more of a product label,a promotional sale, a manufacturer rebate, a seasonal sale,buy-one-get-one-free offer, a particular visual aspect of displayedinformation, a sensor state with which the content may be associated,and/or other context. By way of non-limiting example, a particularvisual aspect of display information may be associated with one or moreof display size of a product label and/or other text, a color and/orcolor scheme of the content, and/or other visual aspects. By way ofnon-limiting example, context information may specify whether content isto be displayed during one or more of a “no motion” sensor state,“motion” sensor state, and/or other sensor states. By way ofnon-limiting example, electronic storage 122 may store first contextinformation that characterizes first content as being associated with afirst context.

The global content server 102 may include one or more physical processor106 configured by machine-readable instructions 108. Executing themachine-readable instructions 108 may cause the one or more physicalprocessor 106 to facilitate serving content to one or more merchandisingcommunication systems 130 associated with one or more retailenvironments. The machine-readable instructions 108 may include one ormore of a user interface component 110, content management component112, merchandising communication system management component 114(abbreviated MCS management component 114 in FIG. 1), a push component116, a feedback component 118, a report component 120, and/or othercomponents.

The user interface component 110 may be configured to effectuatepresentation of user interfaces at computing platforms 126 associatedwith users of system 100. A given user interface may include one or moreuser interface elements and/or other components. A user interfaceelement may comprise one or more of an input element, a display element,a navigation element, and/or other elements. An input element maycomprise one or more of selectable element (e.g., virtual button), atext input box, a drop down menu, a check box, and/or other inputelements. A display element may comprise a portion of a user interfaceconfigured to present information. A display element may comprise one ormore of a window, a pop-up window, a status bar, and/or other displayelements. A navigation element may be configured to facilitate usernavigation between different pages, tabs, windows, and/or views of oneor more user interfaces. A navigation element may include one or more ofa scroll bar, a tab, a root menu, and/or other navigation element.

In some implementations, a given user interface may be configured toreceive user entry and/or selection of parameter values for one or morecontent communication parameters, and/or other information. By way ofnon-limiting example, a given user interface may include one or moreuser interface elements configured to facilitate user entry and/orselection of parameter values. The user interface component 110 may beconfigured to obtain the user entered and/or selected parameter valuesfrom computing platforms 126 based on user interaction with the userinterface displayed on the computing platforms 126.

User-provided parameter values for one or more content communicationparameters may facilitate selective communication of content to one ormore merchandising communication systems 130. Content communicationparameters may include one or more of content selection parameters,merchandising communication system selection parameters, and/or otherparameters. Content selection parameters may facilitate determinationsof content (e.g., display information) to be communicated to one or moremerchandising communication systems 130. Merchandising communicationsystem selection parameters may facilitate determinations of individualmerchandising communication systems and/or sets of merchandisingcommunication systems for which content may be communicated to.

Content selection parameters may include one or more of a content typeparameter, product parameter, context parameter, and/or otherparameters.

Values for a content type parameter be related to the type(s) of contentto be communicated. By way of non-limiting example, a value for acontent type parameter may specify one or more of video, text, audio,and/or other information that characterizes a content type.

Values for a product parameter may be related to specifying productclass(es), names of products, brands, and/or manufacturers with whichcontent may be associated with. By way of non-limiting example, a valuefor a product parameter may include one or more of a product class, aproduct type, a product name, a product brand, a manufacturer name,and/or other information. By way of non-limiting example, a value for aproduct parameter may include a particular product name.

Values for a context parameter may be related to a context of thecontent to be communication. By way of non-limiting example, a value fora context parameter may specify that content to be communicated may bewithin the context of one or more of a limited sale, a promotional sale,a discount, a manufacturer rebate, a change of visual aspect ofdisplayed information, a particular sensor state at which the contentmay be display, and/or other context. By way of non-limiting example, achange of a visual aspect of display information may be associated withone or more increasing a display size of a product label, changing acolor and/or color scheme of a display, and/or other changes.

Content communication parameters associated with determining individualmerchandising communication systems and/or sets of merchandisingcommunication systems for which content may be communicated to mayinclude one or more of an MCS configuration parameter, a retailenvironment identification parameter, a locality parameter, a retailenvironment configuration parameter, a services parameter, and/or otherparameters.

Values for an MCS configuration parameter may facilitate determiningmerchandising communication systems based on specifying one or morecomponents of the merchandising communication system, a layout of themerchandising communication system, locations of individual displayunits, and/or other information. In some implementations, values for anMCS configuration parameter comprising locations of individual displayunits may facilitate directing content (e.g., local display information)to a desired display unit. By way of non-limiting example, a value of anMCS configuration parameter may include one or more of specific quantityof components of an merchandising communication system, a given layoutof a merchandising communication system, and/or other information. Byway of non-limiting example, a value for a MCS configuration parametermay include a quantity of display units (and/or other components),and/or other information.

Values for a retail environment identification parameter may facilitatedetermining merchandising communication system based on one or more ofname, location, and/or other identification information. By way ofnon-limiting example, a value of a retail environment identificationparameter may include one or more of a particular retail environmentname, a particular location (e.g., state, city, region, neighborhood,zip code, and/or other location information), and/or other information.

Values for a locality parameter may facilitate determining merchandisingcommunication systems based on one or more of businesses nearby theretail environment, demographics of neighborhoods surrounding the retailenvironment, traffic information, and/or other locality information. Byway of non-limiting example, a value for a locality parameter mayinclude one or more of a business name, particular demographicinformation, particular traffic information, and/or other information.By way of non-limiting example, a value for a locality parameter mayinclude “parking lot with 100 or more available spaces,” and/or otherinformation.

Values for a retail environment configuration parameter may facilitatedetermining merchandising communication system based on physicalfeatures of a given retail environment. By way of non-limiting example,values for a retail environment configuration parameter may include oneor more of a size and/or shape of a retail environment, a squarefootage, locations of different products and/or services offered by theretail environment, number of checkout lanes, locations and/oravailability of public restrooms, locations of entrances and/or exits,and/or other physical layout information.

Values of a services parameter may facilitate determining merchandisingcommunication system based on services information. By way ofnon-limiting example, a value for a services parameter may include oneor more a conventional, specialty, promotional, seasonal and/or othertypes of services, features, and/or products provided by a retailenvironment. By way of non-limiting example, a value for a servicesparameter may include “curb side pickup,” and/or other information.

Content management component 112 configured to associate content withone or more user-provided parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters. Association of content with the user-providedparameter values may comprise one or more of determining matches betweenthe user-provided values and available content, and/or other techniques.By way of non-limiting example, the user-provided values may be comparedwith information that characterizes available content. By way ofnon-limiting example, first content may be associated with a firstuser-provided parameter values for a first content communicationparameter. By way of non-limiting example, the first contentcommunication parameter may comprise a first content selectionparameter. Association of the first content with the first user-providedparameter value may be based on the first content being characterized bythe first user-provided parameter value.

By way of non-limiting example, the first content selection parametermay be a product parameter related to product class. The firstuser-provided parameter value may be “dish washing detergents.” Thefirst content may include, for example, manufacturer rebates for dishwashing detergents (e.g., characterized by the first user-providedparameter value). By way of non-limiting example, the first contentselection parameter may be a product parameter related to product name.The first user-provided parameter value may be “Count Chocula Cereal.”The first content may include, for example, labels for Count ChoculaCereal having an image of the Count Chocula cartoon character (e.g.,characterized by the first user-provided parameter value).

In some implementations, content management component 112 may configurecontent based on specifics of a merchandising communication system 130with which the content is to be communicated (e.g., determined by MCSmanagement component 114). By way of non-limiting example, content(e.g., global display information including local display information)may be configured based one or more of the components of an intendedrecipient merchandising communication system 130, layout of thecomponents of the recipient merchandising communication system 130(e.g., locations of display units where local display information isintended to go), and/or other criteria.

MCS management component 114 may be configured to determine individualmerchandising communication systems and/or sets of merchandisingcommunication systems to serve content based on user-provided parametervalues for one or more content communication parameters. Determinationof individual merchandising communication system and/or sets ofmerchandising communication systems may comprise one or more ofdetermining matches between the user-provided values and informationthat characterizes the merchandising communication systems, and/or othertechniques. By way of non-limiting example, a first merchandisingcommunication system may be determined based on a second user-providedparameter value for a second content communication parameter. The firstmerchandising communication system may be determined based on the firstmerchandising communication system being characterized by the seconduser-provided parameter value. By way of non-limiting example, thesecond content communication parameter may comprise a firstmerchandising communication system selection parameter.

By way of non-limiting example, the first merchandising communicationsystem selection parameter may be a locality parameter related todemographics. The second user-provided value may comprise, for example“near a gated community.” The first merchandising communication systemmay be associated with a retail environment near a gated community (andtherefore determined based on first merchandising communication systemmatching the second user-provided value).

Push component 116 may be configured to effectuate communication ofcontent associated with user-provided parameters values (e.g., asdetermined by content management component 112) to determined individualmerchandising communication systems and/or sets of merchandisingcommunication systems (e.g., as determined by MCS management component114). In some implementations content communicated to individualmerchandising communication systems 130 may be configured specificallyfor the individual merchandising communication system 130 (e.g., basedon the specifics of the components of the merchandising communicationsystem 130, layout of the merchandising communication system 130, and/orother criteria). Push component 116 may be configured to effectuatecommunication of content to the appropriate receiving merchandisingcommunication system. By way of non-limiting example, push component maybe configured to effectuate first content to the first merchandisingcommunication system.

In some implementations, when sets of merchandising communication system130 have been determined for content delivery, the push component 116may be configured to identify configurations of content that may havebeen specifically configured for individual ones of the merchandisingcommunication systems within the set of merchandising communicationsystem (e.g., configured by content management component 112) andcommunicate the content appropriately. By way of non-limiting example,responsive to a first merchandising communication system, a secondmerchandising communication system, and/or other merchandisingcommunication systems (e.g., collectively comprising a set ofmerchandising communication systems) being determined based the seconduser provided parameter value for the first merchandising communicationsystem selection parameter, the push component 116 may be configured tocommunicate a first configuration of the first content to the firstmerchandising communication system and a second configuration of thefirst content to the second merchandising communication system. Thefirst configuration may be specific to the first merchandisingcommunication system. The second configuration may be specific to thesecond merchandising communication system.

The feedback component 118 may be configured to obtain feedbackinformation from individual ones of the merchandising communicationsystems. In some implementations, feedback information may include oneor more of economic performance information, maintenance information,and/or other information. By way of non-limiting example, the feedbackcomponent 118 may be configured to obtain first feedback informationfrom the first merchandising communication system.

Economic performance information may convey economic benefits and/ordetriments to a given retail environment following the communication ofcontent to the merchandising communication system of the retailenvironment. By way of non-limiting example, economic performanceinformation may reflect one or more of sales increases (e.g., in volume,dollar amounts, frequency, and/or other measure), sales decreases (e.g.,in volume, dollar amounts, frequency, and/or other measure), and/orother information. Economic performance information may include one ormore of a graph, a chart, a table, a figure, and/or other type ofpresentation configured to convey economic performance of a retailenvironment.

In some implementations, merchandising communication systems and/orother systems included at a retail environment may be configured togenerated economic performance information in response to requests forsuch information (e.g., via feedback component 118), periodically,randomly, and/or at other times. By way of non-limiting example,feedback component 118 may be configured to request economic performanceinformation after a predetermined threshold time period following thecommunication of content, periodically, and/or on some other basis.

In some implementations, maintenance information may conveying workingconditions of one or more components of a given merchandisingcommunication systems. By way of non-limiting example, maintenanceinformation may include conditions hardware and/or software componentsof a merchandising communication system. Conditions may reflect a needfor immediate and/or schedule service of one or more components, and/orother maintenance operations.

In some implementations, merchandising communication systems and/orother systems included at a retail environment may be configured togenerated maintenance information in response to requests for suchinformation (e.g., via feedback component 118), periodically, randomly,on an as-needed basis, and/or at other times. By way of non-limitingexample, feedback component 118 may be configured to request maintenanceinformation periodically and/or on some other basis. By way ofnon-limiting example, merchandising communication systems and/or othersystems of a retail environment may be configured to send maintenanceinformation to system 100 (e.g., feedback component 118) in response tocondition issues being detected in the merchandising communicationsystem (e.g., as-needed).

The report component 120 may be configured to generate and disseminateperformance reports based on the feedback information. Performancereports may reflect a current state of merchandising communicationsystems as determined from the feedback information obtained from themerchandising communication systems.

Performance reports generated by report component 120 may includeweb-based reports, email reports, tables, charts, and/or other types ofreports. Performance reports may be disseminated by generating one ormore of a text message, an email, a sound notification, a visualnotification, and/or other notification. For example, report component120 may be configured to automatically generate a first performancereport for the first merchandising communication system based on thefirst feedback information. The report component 120 may be configuredto communicate the first performance report to the first computingplatform associated with the first user.

In some implementations, performance reports may be in a tabular formand/or other forms. Performance reports may include reports generatedbased on predefined templates and/or other information. For example,predefined templates may be obtained and/or generated by reportcomponent 120. The predefined templates may include templates specificto one or more of merchandising communication systems, retailenvironments, products, content, and/or other templates. The performancereports may include customizable reports. Customization of the contentreports may include customization of the layout of the report,information contained in the report, the structure of the report, and/orother customization.

In some implementations, report component 120 may be configured togenerate content reports in response to one or more of a request for thereport (e.g., by a user via a user interface), feedback informationbeing obtained, periodically, and/or other criteria. The requests togenerate performance reports may include, for example, requests from auser, a retail environment, a product owner, a merchandisingcommunication system owner, from components within or outside system100, and/or other requests.

By way of non-limiting example, responsive to the first feedbackinformation being obtained from the first merchandising communicationsystem (e.g., by feedback component 118), the report component 120 maybe configured to generate a first performance report and/or communicatethe first report to the first computing platform.

One exemplary implementation of system 100 may include an instance wherea user′ may provide entry and/or selection of parameter values for oneor more content communication parameters that may facilitate sending thesame or similar content to the same or similar retail environment. Thismay facilitate A/B testing between retail environment to evaluate aneffectiveness (e.g., economic performance) of the same or similarcontent being utilized at each of the retail environments. In someimplementations, requests for feedback information and/or performancereports may be associated with requested from two retail environmentwhere the same or similar content was served. Performance reports may beconfigured to include A/B testing results in a single report.Alternatively, separate reports may be generated for different retailenvironments and a user may simply compare the reports to facilitatedetermining A/B testing results.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface 400 configured to receiveuser entry and/or selection of parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters. User interface 400 may be presented on adisplay of a computing platform associated with a user of the system 100(FIG. 1). User interface 400 may include one or more user interfaceelement configured to facilitate user entry and/or selection ofparameter values. By way of non-limiting example, user interface 400 mayinclude one or more of input elements 402, 404, 406, 408, and/or otheruser interface elements. Input elements may comprise one or more ofcheck boxes 402, text input fields 404, drop down menu 406, selectablebuttons 408, and/or other input elements. In some implementations,individual input elements may be associated with one or more contentcommunication parameters for which a user may specific a parametervalue. For example, as illustrated, user interface 400 may be configuredto facilitate user entry and/or selection of parameter values for one ormore of a first content communication parameter, a second contentcommunication parameter, a third content communication parameter, afourth content communication parameters, and/or other parameters. One ormore of the parameters may comprise content selection parameters. One ormore of the parameters may comprise merchandising communication systemselection parameters. One or more input elements (e.g., input element408) may facilitate user submission of entered and/or selection ofparameter values to effectuate serving of appropriate content toappropriate merchandising communication systems.

Its noted that the depiction in FIG. 4 and accompanying descriptions areprovided for illustrative purposes only and are not to be consideredlimiting. For example, in some implementations, a user interface may beconfigured to facilitate user entry and/or selection of more or fewercontent communication parameters.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary implementation of system 100 configuredfor serving content to one or more merchandising communication systems.System 100 as shown includes one or more of global content server 102,computing platform 126, merchandising communication system 130 withinretail environment 1000, and/or other components. Global content server102, computing platform 126, merchandising communication system 130,and/or other components may communicate via network 124.

Computing platform 126 may be configured to display a user interface500. User interface 500 may be configured to receive user entry and/orselection of parameter values for one or more content communicationparameters. By way of non-limiting example, the content communicationparameters of user interface 500 may include one or more of a contentselection parameter, locality parameter, services parameter, and/orother parameters. Locality parameter and services parameter may comprisemerchandising communication system selection parameters.

User interface 500 may include one or more user interface element. Byway of non-limiting example, user interface 500 may include inputelements 502 configured to receive user entry and/or selection ofparameter values for the various parameters, input parameters 504configured to receive user input to effectuate serving of content to oneor more merchandising communication systems. For example, input elements502 may comprise sets of check boxes and/or other input elements.

For illustrative purposes, one or more parameter value are shown asbeing selected by a user of computing platform 126. The parameter valuesmay facilitate selective serving of content to merchandisingcommunication system 130 in accordance with one or more implementationsof system 100 described herein. By way of non-limiting example, thecurrent selections as shown may facilitate serving content to retailenvironments characterized by being located in “San Diego County” thatoffer “health food” services. The content to be served includes an“image” to be displayed on the label associated with a display unit for“Bob's Cereal.” This is illustrated within retail environment 1000,wherein image 508 is shown displayed by a display unit 506 correspondingto the product “Bob's Cereal.”

Returning to FIG. 1, external resource(s) 128 may include sources ofinformation, hosts and/or providers of information and/or servicesoutside of the system 100, external entities participating with thesystem 100 (e.g., cloud storage), and/or other resources. In someimplementations, some or all of the functionality attributed herein toexternal resources 128 may be provided by resources included in thesystem 100.

Global content server 102 may include communication lines, components,or ports to enable the exchange of information with a network,merchandising communication system(s) 130, external resource(s) 128,and/or computing platform(s) 126. Illustration of global content server102 in FIG. 1 is not intended to be limiting. Global content server 102may include a plurality of hardware, software, and/or firmwarecomponents operating together to provide the functionality attributedherein to Global content server 102. For example, Global content server102 may be implemented by a cloud of computing platforms operatingtogether as Global content server 102.

Electronic storage 122 may comprise electronic storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofelectronic storage 122 may include one or both of system storage that isprovided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server 102and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to server 102via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or adrive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 122 may include oneor more of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.),magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic harddrive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g.,EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.),and/or other electronically readable storage media. The electronicstorage 122 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g.,cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storageresources). Electronic storage 122 may store software algorithms,information determined by processors 106, information received fromcomputing platforms 126, information received from merchandisingcommunication system(s) 130, and/or other information that enablesglobal content server 102 to function as described herein.

Processor(s) 106 may be configured to provide information processingcapabilities in global content server 102. As such, processor(s) 106 mayinclude one or more of a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information. Althoughprocessor(s) 106 is shown in FIG. 1 as a single entity, this is forillustrative purposes only. In some implementations, processor(s) 106may include one or more processing units. The processing units may bephysically located within the same device, or processor(s) 106 mayrepresent processing functionality of a plurality of devices operatingin coordination.

Processor(s) 106 may be configured to execute components 110, 112, 114,116, 118, and/or 120 by software, hardware, firmware, some combinationof software, hardware, and/or firmware, and/or other mechanisms forconfiguring processing capabilities on the processor(s) 106. It shouldbe appreciated that, although components 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, and/or120 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being co-located within a singleprocessing unit, in implementations in which processor 106 includesmultiple processing units, one or more of components 110, 112, 114, 116,118, and/or 120 may be located remotely from the other components. Thedescription of the functionality provided by the different components110, 112, 114, 116, 118, and/or 120 described herein is for illustrativepurposes and is not intended to be limiting, as any of components 110,112, 114, 116, 118, and/or 120 may provide more or less functionalitythan is described. For example, one or more of components 110, 112, 114,116, 118, and/or 120 may be eliminated, and some or all of itsfunctionality may be provided by other ones of components 110, 112, 114,116, 118, 120, and/or other components. As another example, processor106 may be configured to execute one or more additional components thatmay perform some or all of the functionality attributed herein to one ofcomponents 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, and/or 120.

FIG. 6 illustrates method 600 of serving content to one or moremerchandising communication systems. The method 600 may be implementedin a computer system in accordance with one or more implementations. Theoperations of method 600 presented below are intended to beillustrative. In some implementations, method 600 may be accomplishedwith one or more additional operations not described and/or without oneor more of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in whichthe operations of method 600 are illustrated in FIG. 6 and describedbelow is not intended to be limiting.

In some implementations, one or more implementations of method 600 maybe implemented in one or more physical processing devices (e.g., adigital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed toprocess information, an analog circuit designed to process information,a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processinginformation). The one or more processing devices may include one or moredevices executing some or all of the operations of method 600 inresponse to machine-readable instructions stored electronically on oneor more electronic storage mediums. The one or more physical processingdevices may include one or more devices configured through hardware,firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed for execution ofone or more of the operations of method 600.

At an operation 602 of method 600, presentation of user interfaces atcomputing platforms associated with users may be effectuated. A givenuser interface may be configured to obtain user entry and/or selectionof parameter values for one or more content communication parameters. byway of non-limiting example, a first user interface may be presented ona first computing platform associated with a first user. In someimplementations, operation 602 may be performed by one or more physicalprocessors executing an user interface component the same as or similarto user interface component 110 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

At an operation 604, content may be associated with user-providedparameter values for one or more content communication parameters.Content may comprise display information configured to be displayed bythe merchandising communication systems. User-provided parameter valuesfor one or more content communication parameters may facilitateselective communication of content to one or more merchandisingcommunication systems. By way of non-limiting example, first content maybe associated with a first parameter value for a first contentcommunication parameter provided by the first user. In someimplementations, operation 604 may be performed by one or more physicalprocessors executing a content management component the same as orsimilar to content management component 112 (shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed herein).

At an operation 606, individual merchandising communication systemsand/or sets of merchandising communication systems may be determinedbased on user-provided parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters. By way of non-limiting example, a firstmerchandising communication system may be determined based on a secondparameter value for a second content communication parameter provided bythe first user. In some implementations, operation 606 may be performedby one or more physical processors executing an MCS management componentthe same as or similar to MCS management component 114 (shown in FIG. 1and described herein).

At an operation 608, communication of content to the determinedindividual merchandising communication systems and/or sets ofmerchandising communication systems may be effectuated. By way ofnon-limiting example, communication of the first content to the firstmerchandising communication system may be effectuated. In someimplementations, operation 608 may be performed by one or more physicalprocessors executing a push component the same as or similar to pushcomponent 116 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

Although the system(s) and/or method(s) of this disclosure have beendescribed in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what iscurrently considered to be the most practical and preferredimplementations, it is to be understood that such detail is solely forthat purpose and that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosedimplementations, but, on the contrary, is intended to covermodifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood thatthe present disclosure contemplates that, to the extent possible, one ormore features of any implementation can be combined with one or morefeatures of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured for serving content to one ormore merchandising communication systems associated with one or moreretail environments, the system comprising: one or more physicalprocessors configured by machine-readable instructions to: effectuatepresentation of user interfaces at computing platforms associated withusers of the system, a given user interface being configured to obtainuser entry and/or selection of parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters, the user interfaces including a first userinterface presented on a first computing platform associated with afirst user; associate content with user-provided parameter values forone or more content communication parameters, the content comprisingdisplay information configured to be displayed by the merchandisingcommunication systems, wherein the user-provided parameter values forone or more content communication parameters facilitate selectivecommunication of content to one or more merchandising communicationsystems, such that first content is associated with a first parametervalue for a first content communication parameter provided by the firstuser; determine individual merchandising communication systems and/orsets of merchandising communication systems based on user-providedparameter values for one or more content communication parameters, afirst merchandising communication system being determined based on asecond parameter value for a second content communication parameterprovided by the first user; effectuate communication of content to thedetermined individual merchandising communication systems and/or sets ofmerchandising communication systems, such that communication of thefirst content to the first merchandising communication system iseffectuated.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the content communicationparameters include one or more content selection parameters, contentselection parameters facilitating determining content to be communicatedto one or more merchandising communication system, wherein values of oneor more content selection parameters are related to information thatcharacterizes available content, such that the first contentcommunication parameter comprises a first content selection parameter,and wherein the association of the first content with the firstparameter value is based on the first content being characterized by thefirst parameter value.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the contentcommunication parameters include one or more merchandising communicationsystem selection parameters, merchandising communication systemselection parameters facilitating determining individual merchandisingcommunication systems and/or sets of merchandising communication systemsfor which content is served, wherein values of one or more merchandisingcommunication system selection parameters are related to informationthat characterizes merchandising communication systems, such that thesecond communication parameter comprises a first merchandisingcommunication system selection parameter, and wherein the determinationof the first merchandising communication system is based on the firstmerchandising communication system being characterized by the secondparameter value.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising electronicstorage configured to store information that characterizes individualones of the merchandising communication systems.
 5. The system of claim1, further comprising electronic storage configured to store informationthat characterizes available content.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe content communicated to individual merchandising communicationsystems and/or sets of merchandising communication system includesglobal display information, and local display information being a subsetof the global display information, wherein individual display units ofindividual merchandising communication systems are configured toidentify local display information that is to be displayed on theindividual display units.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one ormore physical processors are further configured by machine-readableinstructions to: obtain feedback information from individual ones of themerchandising communication systems; generate and disseminateperformance reports based on the feedback information, such thatresponsive to first feedback information being obtained from the firstmerchandising communication system, a first performance report isgenerated and communicated to the first computing platform.
 8. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein feedback information includes economicperformance information, economic performance information conveyingeconomic benefits and/or detriments to retail environments following thecommunication of content to the merchandising communication systems. 9.The system of claim 6, wherein feedback information includes maintenanceinformation, maintenance information conveying working conditionscomponents of individual merchandising communication systems.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein content includes one or more of video,images, or text.
 11. A method of serving content to one or moremerchandising communication systems associated with one or more retailenvironments, the method being implementation in a computer systemcomprising one or more physical processors and storage media storingmachine-readable instructions, the method comprising: effectuatingpresentation of user interfaces at computing platforms associated withusers of the system, a given user interface being configured to obtainuser entry and/or selection of parameter values for one or more contentcommunication parameters, including effectuating presentation of a firstuser interface on a first computing platform associated with a firstuser; associating content with user-provided parameter values for one ormore content communication parameters, the content comprising displayinformation configured to be displayed by the merchandisingcommunication systems, wherein the user-provided parameter values forone or more content communication parameters facilitate selectivecommunication of content to one or more merchandising communicationsystems, including associating first content with a first parametervalue for a first content communication parameter provided by the firstuser; determining individual merchandising communication systems and/orsets of merchandising communication systems based on user-providedparameter values for one or more content communication parameters,including determining a first merchandising communication system basedon a second parameter value for a second content communication parameterprovided by the first user; effectuating communication of content to thedetermined individual merchandising communication systems and/or sets ofmerchandising communication systems, including effectuatingcommunication of the first content to the first merchandisingcommunication system.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the contentcommunication parameters include one or more content selectionparameters, content selection parameters facilitating determiningcontent to be communicated to one or more merchandising communicationsystem, wherein values of one or more content selection parameters arerelated to information that characterizes available content, such thatthe first content communication parameter comprises a first contentselection parameter, and wherein the association of the first contentwith the first parameter value is based on the first content beingcharacterized by the first parameter value.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the content communication parameters include one or moremerchandising communication system selection parameters, merchandisingcommunication system selection parameters facilitating determiningindividual merchandising communication systems and/or sets ofmerchandising communication systems for which content is served, whereinvalues of one or more merchandising communication system selectionparameters are related to information that characterizes merchandisingcommunication systems, such that the second communication parametercomprises a first merchandising communication system selectionparameter, and wherein the determination of the first merchandisingcommunication system is based on the first merchandising communicationsystem being characterized by the second parameter value.
 14. The methodof claim 11, further comprising storing information that characterizesindividual ones of the merchandising communication systems.
 15. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising storing information thatcharacterizes available content.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein thecontent communicated to individual merchandising communication systemsand/or sets of merchandising communication system includes globaldisplay information, and local display information being a subset of theglobal display information, wherein individual display units ofindividual merchandising communication systems are configured toidentify local display information that is to be displayed on theindividual display units.
 17. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: obtaining feedback information from individual ones of themerchandising communication systems; and generating and disseminatingperformance reports based on the feedback information, includingresponsive to first feedback information being obtained from the firstmerchandising communication system, generating and disseminating a firstperformance report based on the first feedback information.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein feedback information includes economicperformance information, economic performance information conveyingeconomic benefits and/or detriments to retail environments following thecommunication of content to the merchandising communication systems. 19.The method of claim 17, wherein feedback information includesmaintenance information, maintenance information conveying workingconditions components of individual merchandising communication systems.20. The method of claim 11, wherein content includes one or more ofvideo, images, or text.